Agricultural sprinkler head

ABSTRACT

A sprinkler having a nozzle and a diffuser therefor which cooperate to provide a variable distribution of water from the sprinkler head throughout the entire circumference thereof which accomplishes almost complete uniformity of distribution of the water within the maximum and minimum limits of projection of the eater stream from the head. The nozzle is continuously driven in a circular direction and intermittently rotates simultaneously with a diffuser plate, the diffuser having diffuser vanes formed thereon which are intermittently interposed into the water stream from the nozzle to break up the pattern and the distribution thereof. The nozzle and diffuser plate travel together for one complete revolution, in fixed relationship to one another. Upon completion of each revolution, the nozzle disengages itself momentarily from the diffuser plate, and indexes itself relative to the diffuser plate a predetermined incremental distance, whereupon it re-engages and makes another complete revolution, so that the nozzle is constantly changing its relationship with respect to the diffuser plate, and the water dispersing or diffusing vanes provided thereon. The relative indexing of the nozzle and the diffuser plate is accomplished by a gear formed on the nozzle, and a pinion carried by the diffuser plate, which pinion engages the gear on the nozzle, and also engages each complete revolution, a stationary pin which is the equivalent of one tooth of an internal gear. When the pinion engages the pin, it causes the aforementioned disengagement of the diffuser and nozzle and indexing of the nozzle to the next diffuser station or vane.

United States Patent 1 [11] 3,7222 Ertsgaard et al. [45] Ar. 17, 1973vAGRICULTURAL SPRINKLER HEAD water from the sprinkler head throughoutthe entire 75 Inventors: B mn L E an? Edwin circumference thereof whichaccomplishes almost 1 "inter both ga l Calif J complete uniformity ofdistribution of the water within the'maximum and minimum limits ofprojection of the [73] Assignee: Toro Manufacturing Corporation, eaterstream from the head. The nozzle is continu- South Minneapolis, Minn.ously driven in a circular direction and intermittently rotatessimultaneously with a diffuser plate, the dif- [22] Filed June 1971fuser having diffuser vanes formed thereon which are [21] Appl. No.:156,381 intermittently interposed into the water stream from the nozzleto break up the pattern and the distribution 52 us. Cl. ..239/232thereof The nozzle and diffuse plate travel together for one completerevolution, in fixed relationship to [51] Int. Cl. ..B05b 3/08 oneanother Upon completion of each revolution the [58] Field of Search..239/225, 231, 233,

nozzle disengages itself momentarily from the diffuser 239/232 236, 237plate, and indexes itself relative to the diffuser plate a predeterminedincremental distance, whereupon it re- References Cited engages andmakes another complete revolution, so that the nozzle is constantlychanging its relationship UNITED STATES PATENTS with respect to thediffuser plate, and the water 3,563,465 2/1971 Foreman ..239/233xdispersing 0r diffusing vanes Provided thereon The 1,080,136 12/1913Campbell ...239/247 X relative indexing of the nozzle and the diffuserplate is 2,962,220 11/1960 Woods 239/231 X accomplished by a gear formedon the nozzle, and a 3,625,429 12/1971 Turrell 239/232 X pinion carriedby the diffuser plate, which pinion engages the gear on the nozzle, andalso engages each Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles complete revolution,a stationary pin which is the AttorneyVernon A. Johnson et a].equivalent of one tooth of an internal gear. When the pinion engages thepin, it causes the aforementioned [57] ABSTRACT disengagement of thediffuser and nozzle and indexing .1 of the nozzle to the next diffuserstation or vane. A sprmkler having a nozzle and a diffuser thereforwhich cooperate to provide a variable distribution of 25 Claims, 11Drawing Figures l8b l8 I9 4 32 I7 20 24 I80 3 0 7 I l a 1 I3/ I I00 23---I4! 22 1 a 1 260 l ZOE- 26 l I PATENTED APR 1 7 I973 SHEET 2 BF 2FIG.

INVENTORS BYRON L. ERTSGAARD EDWIN J. HUNTER BY THOMAS A. LENNON FIG. 6

ATTORNEY AGRHCULTURAL srnnvirtnn HEAD 'In the sprinkler art, one of theconstant problems facing the designers thereof is the ability to providea sprinkler which can uniformly distribute the water in the area treatedby the sprinkler.

Still another chronic design problem in sprinklers is the ability of thesprinkler to vary the pattern of distrubution for a given application.

Still another design problem is to provide a sprinkler head which iscapable of being quickly and easily modified or altered so as to be ableto vary the pattern of uniformity of distribution or both.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler headcapable of accomplishing and solving all of the aforementioned problemsin an efficient and simple manner and at a minimum of cost ofconstruction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be morefully understood from the following description made in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein like character references refer to thesame parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical center sectional view of one preferred embodimentof this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the nozzle base assembly;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional sub-assembly view of the diffuser platewith the pinion gear attached thereto;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the relative operation of the nozzle anddiffuser plate and deflector and the patterns developed thereby;

FIG. 7 is a detail top view of the trip pin;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a detent on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of a portion of the deflector asviewed from the side opposite to that seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an end elevational view of the deflector as seen from theouter end thereof; and

FIG. llll is a detail top plan view showing the relationship of thenozzle base gear, the pinion, and the trip pm.

Referring to the drawings, a stator body 10 is provided which is theexterior housing for the sprinkler head of this invention and wouldnormally be imbedded in the ground with the flange 10a thereof being ator slightly below ground level. Mounted within the stator body 10 is abull gear 11 which has an integral cylindrical riser 12 extendingvertically upwardly therefrom, the upper outer end of said riser havingpipe threads formed thereon for receiving and mounting the nozzle baseassembly 13. The interior of the nozzlebase assembly isinteriorally'threaded so as to threadedly engage the upper threadedportion of the riser of the bull flange or skirt ma, the lower marginaledge of which is in very close proximity to, but out of contact with,the flange Mia of the stator body in order to reduce the possibility offoreign matter entering the head. The cover is also provided with anopening 1317 through which the water from the nozzle 16 is discharged.

Thus, as the sprinkler head has been described to this point, the bullgear ii would continuously rotate and while continuously rotating wouldcause the nozzle base 13, nozzle i6, and cover 18 carried by the nozzlebase to rotate simultaneously and continously therewith,with the waterrising upwardly through the riser l2 and being discharged through thenozzle base and nozzle itself through the opening 181: in the cover tothe area surrounding the sprinkler heads so that, if nothing more wereadded to the sprinkler as described to this point, the water would beconsistently distributed in a circle in the same pattern throughout, thedistribution thereof being non-uniform from the head to the outerperimeter of the watered area with the heavier concentration of thewater being towards the outer portion of the watered area.

To accomplish the desired periodic diffusion or breaking up of thestream of water so that the area closer to the sprinkler receivesapproximately an equal amount of water, a circular diffuser plate 20 isprovided, which plate is coaxial with the riser portion 12 of the bullgear ill and the nozzle base 13 and which is held in frictionalengagement therewith by helical spring 21 which surround the riser. Thediffuser plate is freely rotatable relative to the riser, and also thenozzle assembly, if not engaged therewith. Even if engaged therewith, itis movable relative to the nozzle assembly if subjected to a forcesufficient to overcome the frictional resistance therebetween. The lowerend of the spring rests on an annular shoulder 2241 provided by internalstator body structure 2%. The upper end of the spring encircles the hub20a of the diffuser plate, and bears against the annular shoulder 20bthereof which extends laterally from the upper end of the hub 20a, thespring continuously biasing the diffuser plate upwardly into engagementwith the nozzle base and the nozzle. The diffuser plate carries a piniongear 22 engaging the gear M on the nozzle base. The diffuser plate isalso provided with a series of detents 2d, which are 12 in number in theillustrated embodiment, and which are circumferentially equally spaced.These detents receive and frictionally engage one of the corners of thenozzle exterior so that when so engaged, the rotation of the nozzle willcause simuitaneous rotation of the diffuser plate, the nozzle drivingthe plate through its engagement therewith the detents thereof.

However, a snap ring 25 is mounted on the interior of the wall of thestator body, which snap ring has a vertical pin 26 which has been moldedto the snap ring which pin 26 is engaged once on each rotation by thepinion gear 22. The upper end 26a of the pin is shaped in the form of agear tooth for proper cooperative engagement with the pinion. When thepinion gear engages the vertical pin 26, it causes the diffuser plate toshift its position slightly with respect to the nozzle and move thenozzle out of engagement with the detents 24 on the diffuser platewhereupon the nozzle is free to rotate momentarily relative to thedifl'user plate until it engages the next detent in the series,whereupon the nozzle and re-engaged diffuser plate will againsimultaneously make a complete revolution until the pinion again engagesthe vertical pin, whereupon the process will be repeated of the nozzlebecoming disengaged from the detent and quickly indexing itself to thenext detent in the series.

At selected station on the diffuser plate, and in alignment with thedetents, the diffuser plate is provided with diffuser vanes 27, ofwhich, in the illustrated embodiment there are four located 90 apart.These diffuser vane are adapted to be interposed in the water streamfrom the nozzle, dividing the stream of water and reducing its range andcausing the water to fall closer to the head. By varying the shape ofthe diffuser vanes and by varying the number of vanes, a nearly perfectdistribution of water from the head to the outer periphery can beobtained.

The vanes 27 are mounted on generally rectangular projections 29 on thediffuser plate, which projections are merely extensions of the inclinedannular lip portion 200 of the plate on which the detents are formed.

The vanes illustrated are triangular in shape when viewed from above,with one apex thereof directly pointing at the center of the nozzlemounted opposite said vane, so that the sides defining said apex divergeoutwardly therefrom, splitting the stream of water issuing from thenozzle and causing same to fan out on a shorter radius than if the vaneweren't there. It will be understood that a different number of vanes,and vanes having other shapes may also be used within the purview ofthis invention.

The detents 24, include an elongate recessed channel portion 240 whichis rectangular in cross-section, with upwardly and outwardly inclinedfaces 24b extending from the upper edge of each side of said channel.

In some circumstances, it may be desirable to further diffuse the waterto accomplish uniformity of distribution and prevent a dry area aroundthe head. To assure diffusion of water on the area immediatelysurrounding the spinkler, a deflector assembly 30 may be provided whichis mounted on top of the cover 18 by means ofa fastening means such asthe bolt 31 and nut 32. The deflector 30 projects laterally out over thenozzle opening to intercept some of the water from the nozzle 16. Thedeflector is provided with an elongate slot or opening 33 which permitsthe solid stream of water to pass therethrough when the nozzle islocated at a station where there is no diffuser.

However, at those stations where a diffuser vane 27 is located, thewater issuing from the nozzle 16 as previously described is divided intotwo streams x and y by the vane to sprinkle the water closer to thehead. To further control the distribution of the water leaving thevanes, the deflector is provided with two different depending deflectorbodies or portions 34 and 35, one on each leg thereof, whic have waterdeflecting surfaces 34a and 35a respectively. Both deflecting surfaces34a and 35a are concavities defining conical surfaces which are orienteddifferently to provide a different pattern of dispersion for each of thestreams provided by the diffuser vanes 27. The conical deflector surface34a on the left side of the deflector (as viewed from above) tends tointercept and deflect the left hand stream x from the vane downwardlyand inwardly to disperse water in the inner annular area 40 around andimmediately adjacent the sprinkler as best seen in FIG. 6. The conicaldeflector surface 35a on the right side of the deflector (as viewed fromabove) intercepts the right hand stream y from the vane and deflects itdownwardly and somewhat laterally to provide the intermediate annularpattern 50 between the inner pattern 60 provided by surface 34a and thefurthermost annular pattern 60 provided by the nozzle when the water isnot diffused or deflected in any way after it leaves the nozzle.

In operation, the bull gear 11 can be driven by any suitable drive means(not shown) such for example as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,107,056. As the bull gear is driven, the rotation thereof causes theriser 12 to rotate which in turn causes rotation of the nozzle baseassembly 13 and the nozzle 16 attached thereto, and also thesimultaneous rotation of the cover 18. As the aforementioned componentsrotate, water is passing through the riser and nozzle and beingdischarged therefrom through the opening 18b in the cover. Theaforementioned water passing through the riser and nozzle is commonlythe water used to operate or drive the drive means for the bull gear,said water passing through the riser after powering the drive mechanism.

The spring 21 continuously biases the diffuser plate 20 upwardly againstthe nozzle 16 which nozzle will normally be seated in one of the detents24, except when traveling between detents. Because of the engagement ofthe nozzle with one of the detents, the diffuser plate rotatessimultaneously with the nozzle in the same direction as the nozzle beingrotated by the en gagement with said nozzle.

As the nozzle and diffuser plate rotate, the gear 14 carried by thenozzle base and the pinion gear 22 simultaneously rotate in engagementwith each other, but without any cooperative interaction therebetween.

However, when the nozzle and diffuser plate have traveled through onecomplete circle, that is, through 360, the pinion 22 moves intoengagement with the tooth portion 26a of the vertical trip pin 26, asperhaps best illustrated in FIG. 11. When the pinion engages the trippin, (which is a stationary member) it causes the pinion to actuate ordrive the nozzle base gear 14 thereby forcing the nozzle 16 out ofengagement with whatever detent it had been engaged with and therebycausing the nozzle to index or travel to the next detent in the serieswhereupon the nozzle and diffuser plate are again cooperativelyre-engaged and travel simultaneously through another 360 of movement,whereupon the trip pin is again engaged by the pinion and theaforementioned disengagement, indexing, and re-engagement are repeated.

During the times when the nozzle is seated in a detent where it does nothave a diffuser vane 27 aligned therewith and opposed thereto, virtuallyall of the water issuing from the nozzle passes through the slot 33 ofdeflector 30 and the majority of said water is projected the furthermostdistance from the sprinkler and falls in the annular pattern 60 shown inFIG. 6. It will, of course, be understood however, that some of thewater, even through not encountering diffuser vane or deflector surfacewill still drop in the areas 40 and 50.

When the nozzle is opposed by one of the vanes 27, the stream of wateris divided into two sub-streams x and y. The sub-stream x in turnencounters the conical deflecting surface 34a causing the majority ofsaid stream to be deflected generally downwardly and rearwardly todevelop the pattern 40. The sub-stream y encounters the conicaldeflecting surface 35a and is directed downwardly and somewhat laterallyto a distance beyond that generally permitted by deflecting surface 34ato develop the sprinkling pattern 50.

Thus, it will be appreciated that through the frequent revolutions ofthe sprinkler, a uniform dispersion pattern of water is obtained aroundthe sprinkler head. v

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:.

l. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means, said nozzle means being designedto rotate about a fixed axis and to discharge a stream of liquid,

diffuser means said diffuser means and nozzle means being adapted formovement relative to each other whereby said diffuser means isintermittently interposed and removed from the path of said stream ofliquid,

said means being adapted to simultaneously travel a predetermineddistance in the same direction with the diffuser means interposed in thepath of said stream of liquid,

said means being further adapted to simultaneously travel ofpredetermined distance in the same direction with thediffuser means outof the path of said stream of liquid.v

2. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said nozzle means moves in acircular path of travel relative to said diffuser means,

and wherein said diffuser means has at least one diffuser elementarranged to be interposed in the path of the stream of liquid for aportion of the time said nozzle means travels in said circular path.

3. The sprinkler of claim 1, including cooperating gear means carried bysaid nozzle means and diffuser means,

and means for engaging one of said, gear means to thereby effectrelative movement between said nozzle means and said diffuser means.

4. The sprinkler of claim 1, including deflector means adapted tointercept at least some of the liquid disposed by said diffuser meansand change the direction of travel thereof.

5 The sprinkler of claim 4, wherein said diffuser means divides saidstream of liquid into at least two sub-streams, and

wherein said deflector means intercepts at least one of saidsub-streams.

6. The. sprinkler of claim 4, wherein said diffuser means divides saidstream of liquid into at least two sub-streams, and

wherein said deflector means intercepts both of said sub-streams andchanges the direction of travel of each,

said deflector means causing a different pattern of distribution for onesub-stream than it does for the other sub-stream.

7. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said diffuser means divides saidstream of liquid into two substreams.

8. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said diffuser means comprises anelement including two intersecting surfaces, the juncture of which facessaid nozzle means, with said surfaces diverging outwardly therefrom.

9. The sprinkler of claim d, wherein said deflector means includes anopening to permit substantially uninterrupted passage of said stream ofliquid where said difiuser means is not disposed in the path of travelof said stream.

10. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said diffuser means includes aplurality of diffusing elements,

said elements being circumferentially spaced apart whereby the stream ofliquid from the nozzle is not interfered with during its travel betweensaid diffuser elements.

11. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said nozzle means and diffusermeans are movable relative to each other, said diffuser means and nozzlemeans being adapted to adopt a plurality of operational positionsrelative to one another,

detent means adapted to releasably hold said diffuser means and nozzlemeans in each of said 0perational positons,

said diffuser means and nozzle means when in said operational positionsbeing adapted to travel a predetermined distance simultaneously,

means for disengaging said diffuser means and nozzle means after theyhave completed their travel through said predetermined distance,

and means for effecting relative movement between said diffuser meansand said nozzle means when they are so disengaged so as to bring themtogether at the next detent station in the series.

12. The sprinkler of claim 1, including a first disengaging elementcarried by one of said means,

a fixed second disengaging element,

said disengaging elements being adapted to engage each otherintermittently to effect said relative movement between said diffuserand nozzle means.

13. The sprinkler of claim 1, including gear means carried by saidnozzle means,

pinion means carried by said diffuser means,

and stationary pin means adapted to intermittently engage said pinionmeans,

said pinion means and gear means being constantly engaged with eachother,

said pinion when engaged by said pin means moving said diffuser meansrelative to said nozzle means.

14. The sprinkler of claim 1,

wherein said diffuser means and nozzle means are movable towards andaway from each other,

and spring means continuously biasing said diffuser means and nozzlemeans towards one another.

15. The sprinkler of claim 1 including structure supporting saiddiffuser means,

said structure including a series of detents for releasably holding saidnozzle means,

at least one of said detents being capable of holding said nozzle meansopposite said diffuser means, and

at least one of said detents being adapted to hold said nozzle means ina position where the diffuser means is not interposed in the path ofsaid stream of liquid.

16. The sprinkler of claim 15,

wherein said detents comprise recesses in said supporting structure andsaid nozzle means is adapted to be seated in said recesses,

and means biasing said recesses and nozzle means ino engagement with oneanother.

17. The sprinkler of claim 16, wherein said supporting structureincludes an annular plate,

said recesses being arranged in substantially equispace series about thecircumference of said plate,

said diffuser means comprising upstanding vanes mounted on saidsupporting structure in alignment with at least some of said recesses tointercept the stream of liquid from nozzles seated in said recesses.

18. The sprinkler of claim 17, wherein said biasing means engages saidsupporting structure and biases same towards and against said nozzlemeans.

19. The sprinkler of claim 1, including a first gear element carried byone of said means,

a second gear element carried by the other of said means and stationarymeans engageable with one of said gear elements intermittently wherebythe simultaneous engagement of said gear elements and said stationarymeans effects said relative movement between said diffuser means andnozzle means.

20. The sprinkler of claim 1,

wherein said diffuser means has at least one diffuser element arrangedto be interposed in the path of the stream of liquid for a portion ofthe time said nozzle means travels about said fixed axis,

said element being adapted to divide said stream of liquid into twoportions,

deflector means supported by said nozzle means and rotatable therewith,

said deflector means comprising two spaced apart arms,

one of said arms being provided with a deflector element adapted tointercept and redirect one of said portions of said stream of liquid,

the other arm having a second deflector element adapted to intercept andredirect the other of said portions of said stream of liquid,

said deflector elements being adapted to redirect their respectiveportions of said stream of liquid at different angles,

said space between said arms being of sufficient size and orientationwith respect to said nozzle means as to permit substantially the entirestream of liquid from said nozzle means to pass through said space whensaid diffuser means is removed from the path of said stream of liquid.

21. The sprinkler of claim 1,

wherein said diffuser means includes a plurality of diffusing elements,

said elements being circumferentially spaced apart whereby the stream ofliquid from the nozzle is not interfered with during its travel betweensaid diffuser elements,

and wherein, said diffusing elements include two intersecting surfaces,the juncture of which faces said nozzle means with said surfacesdiverging outwardly therefrom and adapted to divide the stream of liquidfrom said nozzle means into two portions,

and including structure supporting said diffuser means,

said structure includes a series of detents for releasably holding saidnozzle means,

said detents comprising recesses in said supporting structure in whichrecesses in said nozzle means is adapted to be selectively seated,

and spring means biasing said supporting structure and nozzle means intoreleasable, frictional engagement with one another.

22. The sprinkler of claim 21,

including gear means carried by said nozzle means,

pinion means carried by said diffuser means,

and stationary pin means adapted to intermittently engage said pinionmeans,

said pinion means and gear means being constantly engaged with eachother,

said pinion when engaged by said pin means moving said diffuser meansrelative to said nozzle means.

23. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means rotatable about a fixed axis,

diffuser means rotatable about said axis,

first gear means connected with said nozzle means,

second gear means connected with said diffuser means, said gear meansbeing operatively engaged with each other,

means for rotating said nozzle means and diffuser means about said axis,

said gear means traveling with said nozzle means and diffuser means uponsaid rotation thereof,

and stationary means for engaging at least one of said gear meanswhereupon said gear means co-act to cause relative rotational movementbetween said nozzle means and said diffuser means.

24. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means rotatable about a fixed axis,and

deflector means rotatable simultaneously with said nozzle means,

said deflector means including one opening to permit liquid from saidnozzle to pass therethrough,

said deflector means also including at least one surface capable ofintercepting at least some of the liquid from said nozzle and changingthe direction thereof,

wherein said deflector means includes at least two surfaces capable ofintercepting and changing the direction of liquid from said nozzle,

wherein one of said surfaces is adapted to deflect the liquid in adirection different from that of said other surface,

wherein both of said surfaces are concavities defining a conicalsurface.

25. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means rotatable about a fixed axis,and

deflector means rotatable simultaneously with said nozzle means,

said deflector means including one opening to permit liquid from saidnozzle to pass therethrough,

said deflector means also including at least one surface capable ofintercepting at least some of the liquid from said nozzle and changingthe direction thereof,

wherein said deflector means includes at least two surfaces capable ofintercepting and changing the direction of liquid from said nozzle,

wherein said surfaces are disposed on opposite sides of said opening.

1. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means, said nozzle means being designedto rotate about a fixed axis and to discharge a stream of liquid,diffuser means said diffuser means and nozzle means being adapted formovement relative to each other whereby said diffuser means isintermittently interposed and removed from the path of said stream ofliquid, said means being adapted to simultaneously travel apredetermined distance in the same direction with the diffuser meansinterposed in the path of said stream of liquid, said means beingfurther adapted to simultaneously travel of predetermined distance inthe same direction with the diffuser means out of the path of saidstream of liquid.
 2. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said nozzle meansmoves in a circular path of travel relative to said diffuser means, andwherein said diffuser means has at least one diffuser element arrangedto be interposed in the path of the stream of liquid for a portion ofthe time said nozzle means travels in said circular path.
 3. Thesprinkler of claim 1, including cooperating gear means carried by saidnozzle means and diffuser means, and means for engaging one of said gearmeans to thereby effect relative movement between said nozzle means andsaid diffuser means.
 4. The sprinkler of claim 1, including deflectormeans adapted to intercept at least some of the liquid dispersed by saiddiffuser means and change the direction of travel thereof.
 5. Thesprinkler of claim 4, wherein said diffuser means divides said stream ofliquid into at least two sub-streams, and wherein said deflector meansintercepts at least one of said sub-streams.
 6. The sprinkler of claim4, wherein said diffuser means divides said stream of liquid into atleast two sub-streams, and wherein said deflector means intercepts bothof said sub-streams and changes the direction of travel of each, saiddeflector means causing a different pattern of distribution for onesub-stream than it does for the other sub-stream.
 7. The sprinkler ofclaim 1, wherein said diffuser means divides said stream of liquid intotwo sub-streams.
 8. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said diffusermeans comprises an element including two intersecting surfaces, thejuncture of which faces said nozzle means, with said surfaces divergingoutwardly therefrom.
 9. The sprinkler of claim 4, wherein said deflectormeans includes an opening to permit substantially uninterrupted passageof said stream of liquid where said diffuser means is not disposed inthe path of travel of said stream.
 10. The sprinkler of claim 1, whereinsaid diffuser means includes a plurality of diffusing elements, saidelements being circumferentially spaced apart whereby the stream ofliquid from the nozzle is not interfered with during its travel betweensaid diffuser elements.
 11. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein saidnozzle means and diffuser means are movable relative to each other, saiddiffuser means and nozzle means being adapted to adopt a plurality ofoperational positions relative to one another, detent means adapted toreleasably hold said diffuser means and nozzle means in each of saidoperational positions, said diffuser means and nozzle means when in saidoperational positions being adapted to travel a predetermined distancesimultaneously, means for disengaging said diffuser means and nozzlemEans after they have completed their travel through said predetermineddistance, and means for effecting relative movement between saiddiffuser means and said nozzle means when they are so disengaged so asto bring them together at the next detent station in the series.
 12. Thesprinkler of claim 1, including a first disengaging element carried byone of said means, a fixed second disengaging element, said disengagingelements being adapted to engage each other intermittently to effectsaid relative movement between said diffuser and nozzle means.
 13. Thesprinkler of claim 1, including gear means carried by said nozzle means,pinion means carried by said diffuser means, and stationary pin meansadapted to intermittently engage said pinion means, said pinion meansand gear means being constantly engaged with each other, said pinionwhen engaged by said pin means moving said diffuser means relative tosaid nozzle means.
 14. The sprinkler of claim 1, wherein said diffusermeans and nozzle means are movable towards and away from each other, andspring means continuously biasing said diffuser means and nozzle meanstowards one another.
 15. The sprinkler of claim 1, including structuresupporting said diffuser means, said structure including a series ofdetents for releasably holding said nozzle means, at least one of saiddetents being capable of holding said nozzle means opposite saiddiffuser means, and at least one of said detents being adapted to holdsaid nozzle means in a position where the diffuser means is notinterposed in the path of said stream of liquid.
 16. The sprinkler ofclaim 15, wherein said detents comprise recesses in said supportingstructure and said nozzle means is adapted to be seated in saidrecesses, and means biasing said recesses and nozzle means inoengagement with one another.
 17. The sprinkler of claim 16, wherein saidsupporting structure includes an annular plate, said recesses beingarranged in substantially equispace series about the circumference ofsaid plate, said diffuser means comprising upstanding vanes mounted onsaid supporting structure in alignment with at least some of saidrecesses to intercept the stream of liquid from nozzles seated in saidrecesses.
 18. The sprinkler of claim 17, wherein said biasing meansengages said supporting structure and biases same towards and againstsaid nozzle means.
 19. The sprinkler of claim 1, including a first gearelement carried by one of said means, a second gear element carried bythe other of said means and stationary means engageable with one of saidgear elements intermittently whereby the simultaneous engagement of saidgear elements and said stationary means effects said relative movementbetween said diffuser means and nozzle means.
 20. The sprinkler of claim1, wherein said diffuser means has at least one diffuser elementarranged to be interposed in the path of the stream of liquid for aportion of the time said nozzle means travels about said fixed axis,said element being adapted to divide said stream of liquid into twoportions, deflector means supported by said nozzle means and rotatabletherewith, said deflector means comprising two spaced apart arms, one ofsaid arms being provided with a deflector element adapted to interceptand redirect one of said portions of said stream of liquid, the otherarm having a second deflector element adapted to intercept and redirectthe other of said portions of said stream of liquid, said deflectorelements being adapted to redirect their respective portions of saidstream of liquid at different angles, said space between said arms beingof sufficient size and orientation with respect to said nozzle means asto permit substantially the entire stream of liquid from said nozzlemeans to pass through said space when said diffuser means is removedfrom the path of said stream of liquid.
 21. The sprinkler of claim 1,wherein said diffuser means includes a plurality of diffusing elements,said elements being circumferentially spaced apart whereby the stream ofliquid from the nozzle is not interfered with during its travel betweensaid diffuser elements, and wherein, said diffusing elements include twointersecting surfaces, the juncture of which faces said nozzle meanswith said surfaces diverging outwardly therefrom and adapted to dividethe stream of liquid from said nozzle means into two portions, andincluding structure supporting said diffuser means, said structureincludes a series of detents for releasably holding said nozzle means,said detents comprising recesses in said supporting structure in whichrecesses in said nozzle means is adapted to be selectively seated, andspring means biasing said supporting structure and nozzle means intoreleaseable, frictional engagement with one another.
 22. The sprinklerof claim 21, including gear means carried by said nozzle means, pinionmeans carried by said diffuser means, and stationary pin means adaptedto intermittently engage said pinion means, said pinion means and gearmeans being constantly engaged with each other, said pinion when engagedby said pin means moving said diffuser means relative to said nozzlemeans.
 23. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means rotatable about a fixedaxis, diffuser means rotatable about said axis, first gear meansconnected with said nozzle means, second gear means connected with saiddiffuser means, said gear means being operatively engaged with eachother, means for rotating said nozzle means and diffuser means aboutsaid axis, said gear means traveling with said nozzle means and diffusermeans upon said rotation thereof, and stationary means for engaging atleast one of said gear means whereupon said gear means co-act to causerelative rotational movement between said nozzle means and said diffusermeans.
 24. A sprinkler comprising nozzle means rotatable about a fixedaxis, and deflector means rotatable simultaneously with said nozzlemeans, said deflector means including one opening to permit liquid fromsaid nozzle to pass therethrough, said deflector means also including atleast one surface capable of intercepting at least some of the liquidfrom said nozzle and changing the direction thereof, wherein saiddeflector means includes at least two surfaces capable of interceptingand changing the direction of liquid from said nozzle, wherein one ofsaid surfaces is adapted to deflect the liquid in a direction differentfrom that of said other surface, wherein both of said surfaces areconcavities defining a conical surface.
 25. A sprinkler comprisingnozzle means rotatable about a fixed axis, and deflector means rotatablesimultaneously with said nozzle means, said deflector means includingone opening to permit liquid from said nozzle to pass therethrough, saiddeflector means also including at least one surface capable ofintercepting at least some of the liquid from said nozzle and changingthe direction thereof, wherein said deflector means includes at leasttwo surfaces capable of intercepting and changing the direction ofliquid from said nozzle, wherein said surfaces are disposed on oppositesides of said opening.